MOLINE, Ill. — An early three-point barrage set the tone for Northern Iowa on Saturday afternoon, and the University of Evansville women's basketball team was unable to recover, falling 82-58 to the Panthers in the in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at the iWireless Center.
No. 2 seed UNI (24-7) hit five of its first six three-point attempts in the game to take hold early, and UE (14-17) could not mount a response on the other end. The result booked the Panthers a trip to Sunday's conference championship game against top-seeded Drake, which beat Wichita State earlier in the day in Moline.
The Aces were led by all-time leading scorer and four-time all-conference honoree Sara Dickey who racked up 16 points. The Montezuma, Ind., product ends her decorated Aces career with 2,099 career points, which stands as the sixth-best mark in the history of the MVC. Dickey is UE's all-time leader in field goals (711), three pointers (268) and free throws (408). She also ranks seventh in career steals (160) and she stands as the 10th-best scorer in Indiana Division I history.
"To have Sara's last year be my first year as a head coach has been a pleasure," Ruffing said. "She's been a huge part of what we've done this year, and throughout her whole career. She's one of the best that has ever put on a University of Evansville uniform."
"Overall, this team has been a great group to coach. Yesterday summed up what this group was about. I think we'll look back at this group down the line as the group that started good things for UE."
The 2017 senior class stands as one of the most statistically decorated in history. Sasha Robinson, who pulled down six rebounds on Saturday, finishes her UE career with 841, which is the second-most in the school record books. Camary Williams, who was presented with the league's defensive player of the year award earlier this week, recorded 119 steals this season, which is a school record and the third-most for a single season in conference history.
All three as well as fellow senior Ashley Hawkins each played pivotal roles in the 2016-17 campaign for the Aces, which turned heads across the conference. A season after finishing in 10th, UE improved its win total by 11 and became just the fourth team in conference history to jump from a 10th-seed to a first round bye in the span of a year.
"We've had a lot of downs over the years," Ruffing said. "It was great to come here and get a win like we did against Missouri State on Friday. You could see the joy these players had. As coaches, that's what we do it for. I think that when the team looks back at this week, they'll remember that, and hopefully, it's just the first step of what we're building towards in the future."
After weathering an early UNI blitz that saw the Aces fall behind by double-digits in the opening quarter, Macie Lively helped cut the lead to seven points at 23-16 with a circus shot at the buzzer. However, while the percentages may have leveled off from the hot first quarter for the Panthers, they grabbed hold of the rebounding advantage in 23-14 fashion, which included 10 on the offensive glass, to take a 41-25 edge into the break.
The Panthers put the game out-of-reach for good with a 25-point third quarter.
Angie Davison and Madison Weekly did the bulk of the heavy lifting, combining for 41 points on 14-of-28 shooting, which included a 13-of-25 showing from beyond the three-point arc.
UE, which has won at least one tournament game in three consecutive seasons, will graduate four players from this season's squad. The Aces will return to the court next fall in a newly-renovated Carson Center.
—#AcesAces —
